Comparisons of the American empire to the Roman empire only go so far, but they don’t have to be exact to be striking and relevant. I refer to both empires in the past tense as an act of grammarly prescience.
Both were based on the greatest military war machines of their time; both were dedicated to economic empire and to the increasing benefit of an oligarchy; both subverted a semblance of republican government with the cult of an elite devoted to militarism and corporatism; both were given to socialized cruelty and greed on an epic scale; both gave rise to totalitarian government in which submission to the gods of the state became the definition of patriotism; and both collapsed on the basis of sheer unsustainability.
The biggest difference between now and then is that the entire world economic and political order is collapsing into statism and totalitarianism. But the American empire is leading the way. It has at most another decade or two. And when the American empire collapses, China and Russia will collapse also, but not all at once.
Modern empires are based on the command of fossil fuels, manufacturing and foreign consumer markets. The age of fossil fuels is almost over and so the age of empire is almost over. Green energy does not allow for empire. This is why the richest and most powerful nations are not willingly going Green. In fact, it is why they oppose going Green.
It will be a protracted and bloody transition to a world based on sustainable energy. It will represent the end of the world as we know it. And this will allow for a merciful and compassionate new beginning.
